The Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) has called for a radical overhaul of all planning laws, specifically policy relating to the National Planning Framework (NPF) and Project Ireland 2040, which underpins the NPF.
Speaking on this, INHFA National President Pheilim Molloy outlined how “specific elements of NPF policy are actively discriminating against young people from farming backgrounds, building new houses on the farm they grew up on.”
This policy is, he continued, “seeing an exodus of young people from rural Ireland that is undermining the long-term sustainability of some areas, while in larger urban areas such as Dublin, we see increased congestion and pressure on services that is clearly unsustainable.”
In the development of the NPF, we have the INHFA leader suggests “moved too much power away from the local authorities while also allowing other interests and ideologies to influence decisions in counties and regions that may not even live in.”
While accepting that there needs to be a planning framework, Molloy insisted that “the elected county councillors need to have more control over this and in drafting County Development Plans we must ensure that outside influence is minimal and trust those that are elected to do right by the people that elect them.”
The INHFA President also cited ongoing concerns expressed by the GAA regarding rural decline and the negative impact this is having on rural clubs’ ability to field teams. Unfortunately, this issue is, he stated, “featuring more and more and a clear example of a concerning demographic change across rural Ireland. A change that is seeing the overall population grow older because young people continue to leave.”
There is, he continued, “no doubt that the cost of housing is a factor in this exodus and that is why we must look at ways of reducing this cost.”Houses built in rural areas are, Molloy added, “normally cheaper than an equivalent house built in town or city because the site is usually cheaper and this is very much the case if the site comes free, as often it will if a son or daughter is building a house on the family farm.”
We are, the farm leader insisted, reaching a critical point regarding the future of many rural areas, and if we don’t make changes, it could be too late pretty soon. Planning for new houses and infrastructural projects has become a major issue and can no longer be ignored. Luckily, this is one issue that doesn’t cost money, and if the State gets it right, it could even generate money, but we do need an urgent revamp of our planning laws.”